Hard Truth Distillery is in Nashville, Indiana. They are making some excellent sweet mash rye whiskeys. This particular rye was developed with a lower proof and price point to meet customer desire and introduce more consumers to their sweet mash rye whiskeys. This expression is made with 55% rye, 36% corn and 9% malted barley.
The Distillery sent this bottle to me. Matt and I sat down and tasted this Rye and here are our tasting notes.
Hard Truth High Road Sweet Mash Rye
Proof: 93
Age: 3 years old
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla, rye grass, apricots, baking spices and oak.
- Matt: Caramel, rye grass and candied orange.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, strawberries, nutmeg and oak. Tasting a dried cranberry brings out a cinnamon, ginger spice and oak. Tasted with a pecan brings out caramel and butterscotch with ginger spice.
- Matt: Caramel, orange and rye grass. The dried cranberry brought out grapefruit, rye and oak notes. The pecan brought out notes of caramel, rye, sweet oak and molasses.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak and spice and lingering strawberry. The dried cranberry made the finish longer with more oak and cinnamon. The pecan made the finish longer with oak, spice and lingering butterscotch.
- Matt: Oak, caramel and grass. The dried cranberry enhanced the oak and rye flavors. The pecan brought out oak, molasses and lingering caramel.
I would pair this delicious Sweet Mash Rye whiskey with a good cigar—a Don Pepin Garcia Black 1979 Robusto. The medium bodied smoke with its notes of cedar spice and oak will complement the rye grass and vanilla flavors in the whiskey.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller